The OHAFC travelled to Aldenham School on Saturday for their first away fixture of the 2015/16 season knowing that a third consecutive victory would leave them sitting pretty at the top of Division One going into a two-week long break.

Spirits in the camp were understandably high after opening this term with 3-0 wins over both Repton and Wellington and, given that Aldenham had also played the same opponents and managed just a single point, there was plenty of optimism that a third victory was well within the grasp of the strong 14-man squad that travelled to Hertfordshire on a perfect autumnal afternoon.

That confidence was shaken somewhat by a careless pass straight from kick-off from centre-half Fred Milln which immediately ceded possession to the hosts. (Milln's slow start was possibly due to the complex negotiations he had previously undertaken with the local vicar to determine exactly where the pitches were located, with even his holiness' most coherent instructions ('They're over there') met with a blank stare by the only man in the Arthurian League whose shirt number is higher than his IQ).

Anyway, having dealt with that particular attack, an evenly-contested opening half of football then developed in which the hosts gave as good as they got and probably even shaded the possession statistics. What was quickly clear was that Aldenham were a stronger unit than either of Harrow’s previous opponents and any victory would be hard-earned.

Aldenham matched the Blues’ five man midfield but their central trio played closer together and began to overrun Portal and Hill in the middle, Poulter’s holding position in front of the back four, which had proved instrumental in the two opening wins, rendered largely redundant. Certainly going forward Harrow struggled to inject any fluency into their play at all with just two chances created in the opening forty-five minutes: a Lederman cross to the back post that was headed over by Portal and a jinking run from Harry Hoffen into the heart of the Aldenham penalty area that was interrupted by the sprawling goalkeeper – on another day the challenge may have brought a penalty but to his credit Harry stayed on his feet only for the angle to narrow and the chance to escape.

Aldenham threatened sporadically down their flanks with one winger in particular possessing ample pace to trouble von Hirsch and Bajwa in the full-back positions. In keeping with the fractured nature of the game however, their best chance, and the closest either side came to breaking the deadlock, arrived from a set-piece – a near post corner was flicked on and the ball headed powerfully towards the roof of the Harrow net only for McGuiness to produce an excellent tip over the bar.

Despite not playing anywhere like their best, the 0-0 scoreline at the break meant that the OHAFC 1st XI had gone 225 minutes from the start of the season without conceding a goal – in itself a hugely encouraging statistic.

Unfortunately just minutes into the second half the second serious injury to befall a Harrow full-back this season occurred. Jagaur Bajwa tracked his man down the left and got in front to clear the ball but, by accident, the attacker kicked through the back of Jaguar’s knee and he went down in clear distress. After a few minutes testing the severity of the injury he was helped from the pitch and now joins right-back Jonny Lalude (hamstring) in the treatment room. Fred Richardson, back from a trip to China, was his replacement.

The Harrow plan to play further up the pitch, thereby limiting the space for the Aldenham midfield to operate in, initially looked to have made little difference with nothing to choose between the sides on the hour. But as the game wore on, the visitors slowly began to take control, to the extent that the last twenty minutes were one-way traffic.

Soyinka and Newton were brought on with Harrow switching to a 4-4-2 formation and the change saw further pressure heaped on the stretched Aldenham back four. With time running out for either side to grab the winner, the result was settled in a dramatic two-minute spell.

The visitors had the first chance to seal the points when Lederman produced his one telling ball of the match to free Hoffen behind his marker but this time the striker could not finish, sending his first-time effort into orbit with just the ‘keeper to beat.

Aldenham reacted by charging downfield, Sert stretching to clear a long ball for a corner. The set-piece was whipped into the six yard box and met with a thump from an Aldenham boot, the ball arrowing past the stranded McGuiness.

Skipper Ed Poulter immediately send Fred Milln up front and even though less than five minutes remained, there was still enough panic in the Aldenham rearguard to suggest a point could be gained. The ball never quite fell for the Harrow forwards however and the hosts hung on to claim the points to their obvious joy.

For the Blues, it was a cruel way to see both their unbeaten start and clean sheet record shattered. The side didn’t play well in the first half but perhaps on this occasion it was more a tactical issue than any lack of preparation or effort. Certainly there was a lack of fluency going forward, with passes taking too long to be delivered or distributed inaccurately.

The second half, with the side pushed further up the pitch, saw a significant improvement and the winner seemed only a matter of time in coming. Again however, the quality of the attacking play was not quite good enough to carve out sufficient clear-cut chances. Nevertheless, the side sit in second place in the table, only behind leaders Brentwood on goal difference.